


Home Sweet Home: The Board Exam

by St0rmy



Series: Linked Universe Townhouse AU [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Being a med student is tough, Cute boys who care about each other and want each other to succeed, Found Family, I am going to write as many self-indulgent hugs into this AU as I want to, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Teen+ for language and mentions of death, Time is getting a little better at being a dad, Townhouse AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29156472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/St0rmy/pseuds/St0rmy
Summary: Hyrule gets the results of his board exam and promptly holes himself up in Time’s study without a word to the others. The boys can only assume the worst.Or: The lament of every medical student everywhere at some point.
Series: Linked Universe Townhouse AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084700
Comments: 14
Kudos: 103





	Home Sweet Home: The Board Exam

**Author's Note:**

> Did you know that board exam season is upon us? If you know any med or vet students, you should give them some love and wish them luck!

Even though the days were slowly getting longer, the evening light still wasn’t strong enough to reach the streets of Termina as Time was heading home. The winds were merciful this evening, and he was just warm enough in his long wool coat and scarf. On one arm, he hefted a long white pastry box. His other hand cradled his phone to his ear. 

“I really feel like this is too much cake for nine people.” 

“You’re serving eight growing young boys!” He could hear the sounds of a knife clicking on a cutting board as Malon prepared her own dinner. “You need to triple your serving size when that’s the case.” 

Time rounded the corner onto his street, hesitating for a moment to let a shorter old woman pass beneath the cake box. “Well if my school of skullfish manage to leave anything behind, I’ll bring some with me this weekend.” 

“Mmm.” The suggestion in her tone made his stomach flip. “How soon can I expect you?”

“As soon as I can get away.” The tips of his ears felt warm as he climbed the porch steps. 

Time didn’t need to fumble with his keys to open the front door. It creaked open morosely as he approached. Twilight’s face was somber.

“Tell Hyrule I said congratulations,” Malon said with a smile. “Love you.” 

“You too.” Time was already sliding the phone away from his face as he responded. His eye was fixed on Twilight. “What’s wrong?”

Twilight glanced at the pastry box and his shoulders slumped a little. He pushed the door closed once Time entered, latching the heavy lock before reaching to take the box. He over-enunciated as he silently mouthed the words: _“I don’t think he passed.”_

A pang of sympathy wedged itself in Time’s ribs, and he stood still for a moment, disbelieving. He and the others had watched how much time and effort, how much blood, sweat, and tears Hyrule had been pouring into his education. Over the long weeks leading up to his board exam, Hyrule had been in Time’s study poring over textbooks and notes from the minute Time awoke to well after he went to bed. After all that effort, all that hard work—

Time followed Twilight into the kitchen where he set the long cake box on the marble countertop. Seated at the counter, Wind opened the lid. Written in looping green and gold, the words _‘Congratulations, Dr. Hyrule’_ read more like an insult in these circumstances.

“What do you mean, ‘don’t _think_ he passed’?” Time set his scarf over one of the empty stools, working on the buttons of his coat. 

“Well, he got his score in the mail today.” All eyes turned to where Wild stood at the stove, sautéeing some greens. “And we were all super excited to watch him open it, but he said he wanted privacy. So of course we snuck to the bottom of the stairs when he went up to the third floor to open the envelope.”

Twilight made a disapproving sound in Wild’s direction, turning toward Time to continue. “He ripped open the envelope, didn’t make a sound. Then he just… went into your study and slammed the door.”

Time turned his eye questioningly to where Legend sat slouched at the kitchen table. Legend just shrugged and sadly shook his head. “He won’t let any of us in.” 

Time draped his coat over his arm, gathering up his scarf and smacking the lid to the sheet cake closed before Wind could sneak a swipe of icing. “I’ll go talk to him.” 

Time followed an irregular pattern as he climbed the stairs, not making a single sound even on the old staircase. Light spilled over the carpet from beneath his study door. He tapped on it gently. “Hyrule, may I come in?”

A muffled affirmative came from the other side. 

Time wasn’t sure what he should expect to find in his study, really. Maybe empty bottles of liquor and piles of used tissues, or Hyrule sitting in the middle of the floor, tearing out textbook pages and folding them into meticulous little origami shapes. 

What he didn’t expect was to find Hyrule curled up on his corner of the couch, coffee mug in hand, calmly leafing through a textbook. 

Time steeled himself. _It’s always the calm ones that snap the hardest._ “How are you this evening?”

“Fine, thanks.” Hyrule’s tone was as amicable - and as distracted - as ever. 

Time shut the door with a _click_ and chanced a few steps toward the couch. Hyrule didn’t stir. “Were you supposed to get your test scores today?” 

“Yeah, the envelope is on your desk.” Hyrule slowly turned the page of his textbook. “You can take a look if you want.” 

Time stiffly crossed to his writing desk. The white envelope had been sloppily torn open at the top. He gingerly slid the single sheet of paper out of the envelope and unfolded it.

Your Score Test Result

247 PASS

“Hyrule!” Time was relieved and elated. “You passed!” And, by the looks of the graph included with his results, his performance was above average, too.

Hyrule looked up from his textbook, smiling shyly as he clutched his mug a little closer to his chest. “I did,” he said softly. 

“Congratulations!” Time crossed the study to set a warm hand on Hyrule’s shoulder. “We should celebrate.”

“No, thanks.” Hyrule’s cheeks warmed at the praise, but he turned his nose back to his textbook. Standing over him now, Time could see the ripples in his coffee mug.

Hyrule was shaking.

Time felt uncertainty creep back into his chest. 

“Hyrule.” Time slowly knelt down next to the couch to be at eye-level. “This is something to really be proud of. You’ve earned at least one night of rest and celebration, don’t you think?”

He hummed a negative sound, shaking his head. His eyes never stopped scanning the page he was reading. 

The lines between Time’s brows deepened. “You can’t spend all of your time studying—”

“I have to.” Hyrule turned very seriously toward Time. His eyes were intense. “I have to keep studying, I can’t stop now. I’m the doctor now.”

Time swallowed, sitting back on his heel, and braced himself for what he could see bubbling up in Hyrule’s eyes. 

_“I’m_ the doctor now,” he repeated, jabbing his chest for emphasis. “And sure, I can pick the right answers on a multiple choice test, I can get a high enough number so that I can get a big piece of paper in a few months. But what’s that really worth?” He set down his coffee mug to count on his fingers. “I haven’t placed a PICC line. I haven’t done a splenectomy. I still have panic attacks when seizure patients come into the ER.” His voice rose with every self-accusation. “I’ve never managed an Addisonian crisis! We had a pregnant Gerudo come into the ER in respiratory distress last week and I didn’t know which drugs to use! And that doesn’t even count all the times—”

 **“Hyrule.”** Time hated raising his voice, but watching Hyrule tumble down the side of this mountain of anxieties was too much. Time reached up to move the textbook from his lap, setting a hand on each of his shoulders and turning him to face Time eye-to-eye. When he spoke again, Time’s voice was low and calm. “You don’t think Renado graduated knowing how to do all of those things, do you? It’s not—”

Hyrule was unphased by Time’s physical attempt at controlling his outburst. He in turn reached out to place his arms on top of Time’s - hands only reaching to his biceps - and leaned in with wide eyes. 

“I’ve never had to tell someone that their loved one is dead.” His voice was a whisper, like he was telling his deepest, ugliest secret in the whole world. Tears welled in his eyes, but through sheer force of will, not one spilled over. “The attendings or the residents do that. I’m always the one outside in the hallway, listening to the reaction on the other side of the door - the crying, the wailing, sometimes… just silence.” 

Time sank back on his heels a bit, trying to put some distance between them as something unpleasant stirred in the back of his mind.

“I can’t do it. I can’t.” Hyrule’s gaze fell lower than Time’s line of sight, his eyes tracing his scattered thoughts as they circled around and around. “I can’t tell someone that their mother, their spouse, their _child_ is dead. I can’t let it happen. I have to be better than that. I have to do better tha—”

“Hyrule.” Time dipped his head low enough to catch Hyrule’s gaze again, to pull him back to the present. “You don’t always have control over whether someone lives or dies. No amount of study or practice in the entire world can change that fact. And if you lose—… _When_ you lose a patient, that doesn’t mean you’re a bad doctor.” 

For the first time in a long time, Hyrule focused - really focused - on what was going on in front of him. He met Time’s gaze and drew a slow, shaky breath. 

Time firmly squeezed his shoulders.”You’re smart, and you’re diligent, and you’re incredibly brave, but most of all _you care about people._ You’ve devoted so much of your life to helping others. You stuck by Legend when he didn’t have another soul in the world. _I_ wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for you.” 

The facade began to crack as a fat tear spilled over. 

“Hyrule, you are a good doctor. You were a good doctor _before_ the exam.” There was just a bit of sadness in Time’s smile. “And I’m so proud of you.” 

It hurt to watch Hyrule’s face crumple like that. He hid his face in his hands, ears turning bright pink as his shoulders shook beneath Time’s broad hands. Time knelt upward, pulling him into a firm hug. Hyrule was one of the smaller boys, but it was still surprising to feel just how small he was as Time hugged him. For him to bear so much weight on his shoulders…

It stirred that warm, protective feeling in Time’s chest again. 

Once he’d collected himself enough, Hyrule sat back against the couch, avoiding Time’s gaze as he accepted an offered tissue. He closed the textbook on the cushion next to him, moving it to offer Time a seat. 

“Now, it doesn’t need to be tonight,” Time sat turned toward Hyrule, leaning his elbows on his knees, “but you have some very worried friends downstairs who think that you failed your exam. You should probably share the good news with them.”

Hyrule laughed wetly, rubbing the heel of his hand into his eye. “Yeah, I’ll tell ‘em… I need to wash my face first...”

“Use my bathroom. Towels are in the cabinet.” 

Time stayed in his study, listening quietly as Hyrule descended the two long flights of stairs. He smiled as he heard the cheer rise from the first floor, but his smile gradually went slack as he paced back toward his room. 

Time skipped dinner, not hungry anymore, and turned in early that night. Fitful sleep was interrupted as it usually was by victims vainly pleading for their lives, by the innocent families rent by violence. But a new ghost cowered there in the corners of Time’s mind that night:

The small, young doctor in a white coat two sizes too big, bravely hiding his tears but crumpling inside as the Deity laid a broad hand on his shoulder and forced him into a bleak hospital room to deliver the devastating news of the Deity’s success.


End file.
